


Catching Feelings

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Who Wants to Live Forever [5]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-13
Updated: 2013-11-13
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:38:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the surface he and Erin Strauss surely didn’t make sense.  Lucky for Derek he had never been a surface kind of guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catching Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> This series lives within the Blood of my Blood universe and follows the events in Soulless. If you're still with me I hope you enjoy the story. These two characters in this little universe truly intrigue me.

“Hey, are you back?” Erin answered her cell phone. She didn’t want to sound like she sounded but couldn’t help it. He’d been gone for over two weeks with little to no word.

“When you say it like that it makes me feel like you might care a little.” He said.

“I do care…a little.”

“Where are you right now?”

“I'm at Quantico.” Erin replied. “Too much was being neglected and I had a lot of work to do. I just got back into town a couple of days ago. There was a vampire serial case in New Orleans that turned out to be real vampires. This other world is still a little insane to me at times. I did get to work with a great group of spirits; Will LaMontagne was one of them.”

“Will’s good people, and a Big Easy boy through and through. How did you handle worlds colliding?”

“As best I could; surely I could’ve done worse. Mudgie wasn’t easy to explain to the team but the Deputy Director signed off on him. Dr. Berneman wrote a letter saying that he was a service dog for my PTSD. Now everyone is walking on eggshells around me. I try to ignore it but it’s never been that simple.”

“I bet you could use a night off.”

“Derek…”

“What? I know you, you give 150% and then you're drained. It’s time to close the folders and put the paperwork to the side.”

“I'm really busy tonight.”

“I'm really busy tonight.” He mimicked her.

“Oh my God, don’t you dare mimic me.” Erin squealed like an angry teenage girl. “This paperwork isn’t going to do itself. This is the unsexy part of the job that they never show in the movies or TV.”

“I can't imagine you doing something unsexy. What can I do to convince you to wrap it up early?”

“Well its 7:30 now. If I punch it I can probably get enough done by nine to leave. What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking about pizza, beer, any movie you want, and then some earth shattering lovemaking, if you want.” Derek replied.

“Oh.”

“Let me know if you're thinking about something different. I'm always down for anything.”

“I um…” Erin cleared her throat. “What movie?”

“ _Ocean’s Eleven_?”

“Sinatra or Clooney?”

“We’ll flip a coin for it.” He replied.

“I'm not wearing my ‘there's a possibility I might get laid tonight’ panties.” Erin said. 

She couldn’t believe she said that but one of the things she loved about her relationship with Derek was that most times she was just that comfortable. Sex was just their thing. Erin had no idea how the hell she fell into such a comfortable intimate arrangement with someone. The other shoe had to drop soon.

“We’ll turn out the lights; no judgment.”

“I can leave at 8:30. If traffic cooperates I’ll be to you by 9.”

“I missed you Strauss.” He said. 

He'd actually thought about not saying it but that was silly. His feelings were something that Morgan didn’t feel the need to hide. They hadn’t been apart since Erin came to him for training. Just because they weren’t together every day didn’t mean the bond wasn’t tight.

“You were gone for a while. Did you solve your case?”

“I did; and made a lot of money doing it. Also had Lindsay working a side case here so that’s more money.”

“You gotta save up for when the good guys need you to do pro bono work.” Erin said.

“Exactly. So I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Mmm hmm; and I missed you too by the way.”

“You didn’t have to tell me, I already knew.”

“I'm hanging up on you now.”

Erin smiled and touched the phone to end the call. Derek had been roaming Eastern Europe on the trail of a stolen antique emerald and diamond necklace. It was a dangerous job…all he had was his dog, his wits, and his weapons. Erin would be glad to see him and to make sure he was really alright. She’d examine every inch of his body until she was satisfied.

***

“Do you think I'm as hot as George Clooney?” Morgan asked. He caressed Erin’s face, drawing her into a passionate kiss.

“No.” Erin grinned, burying her face into the crook of his neck and laughing.

“You're heartless, woman.” His smile lit up the dim room.

“I guess it’s a good thing my heart isn’t what you're after right now, huh?”

Derek was naked already; he'd never been shy about taking off his clothes. If Erin looked like a marble sculpture she wouldn’t be either. She was in a bra and panties, which quickly became just panties, which quickly landed on the carpet. She’d gotten to his Columbia Heights house at nearly 9:30. 

Walking through the door, Erin could smell the pizza and hoped he had something stronger than beer. Before she dealt with any of that Erin had to wrap her arms around him and make sure he was still there. She held on tight, checking that he still felt and smelled the same. Derek held on tight too. He kissed her cheek and then her lips.

“ _I'm good.” He said. “I promise.”_

_“You didn’t call.” Erin walked into the living room with him. “I know you were really busy and I was working on the ‘no news is good news’ thing but I was still worried. I even prayed about it.”_

_“Who did you pray to?” Morgan asked._

_“Sam. I know he's probably even busier than you but I just asked him to keep an eye on you. Eastern Europe can be a dangerous place.”_

_“Tell me about it. I bought you a gift; do you want it now or after dinner.”_

_“A gift…I don’t…you didn’t have to…”_

_“You're adorable when you're flustered.” Derek took both her hands and kissed them. “It’s just a little something. When I go away I always bring back gifts for my girls.”_

_“So I'm one of your girls now?” Erin raised an eyebrow._

_“Don’t let your head get too big, woman. There's enough of me to go around.”_

_“I bet you think so_.”

“I think the panties are great.” Derek looked down on the floor at them before once again giving Erin all of his attention. “They match my carpet quite nicely.”

“You're such a funny guy.”

“And you're a beautiful woman.” He kissed her throat and collarbone.

Erin missed him while he was gone but had no idea how to express it. It wasn’t just the sex, though the sex was nice. She was getting used to Derek Morgan in her life, intimately and otherwise. She missed his smile, his snark, and his company. 

Erin missed the warmth of sharing his bed or the comfort on the few occasions he shared hers. The last thing that ever needed to happen was for her to catch feelings. Guys older than Methuselah didn’t want girlfriends. Erin didn’t want to lose what had become an invaluable friendship because she was lonely and misreading things.

“You're tense.” Morgan whispered in her ear as he stroked between her thighs.

“I just have a lot on my mind.” Erin ran her hands down his back. “It’s been a busy few weeks.”

“You want me to empty your mind?”

“I want you to blow it, actually.”

He grinned and slithered under the blanket. Derek was well acquainted with Erin’s body; he had been before they started sleeping together. He knew what made her moan, what made her whimper, and what made her purr like a satisfied lioness. He knew how she liked to be teased. She would grab his shoulder hard or stroke his peach fuzzed head in the same rhythm that he stroked her.

“Mmm,” Erin arched her back, one hand on his head and the other squeezing her breast. “Oh God…my God.”

Derek slowed down, he sped up, and then he cruised to the finish line. She was panting his name over and over with a couple of goddamns thrown in for good measure. He covered her entire upper body in kisses as he moved back to the top of the bed. Erin kissed him hard, relishing the taste of her salty sweetness all over his mouth and tongue.

“You taste so damn good.” Morgan moved his hands down her body.

“I really have to concur.” Erin replied when her breath came back.

“When I said I wanted to make love earlier…”

“You wanna fuck me?”

“I'm really turned on.” Derek adjusted his weight on top of her. “I missed you; I missed the way you call out my name.”

“I hate you, just so you know.” she whispered, holding his face in her hands and giving him Eskimo kisses.

“I hate you too.”

Erin smiled. Derek moved to allow her to change positions on the bed. She got on her knees, sighing as he pulled her body to his. He was so hard and she was already wet. When he touched her, Erin quivered. She spread her thighs and gave him entry. Derek slid in before thrusting deep.

“Ohhh yeah.” He groaned.

Erin gripped the sheets as he pounded into her. All these months later and she still had to get used to his size. When he pinched her nipple and bit her shoulder, she let out a long moan.

“Goddamn, I love your body.” Morgan was almost breathless as he slapped her ass. She liked it so he did it again. “I love your fucking body woman!”

“Don’t stop! Oh fuck Derek, don’t stop! Oh God!”

She reached back to caress his face. Derek knew he was close, he held Erin’s hip while the other hand moved down from her breast to her clit. Soon she was falling again and he wasn’t far behind. The triumphant roar may have been a bit much but it had been awhile. Derek never went too long without sex. 

His job assignment overseas demanded all of his attention. It wasn’t just that, since there was always a time and place for a tension breaker. He was thinking about Erin too much while he was away. Mostly he just wanted her to be alright on her own. But he knew deep down it was more than that. 

It wouldn’t be the first time Derek got caught up in a woman. At his age there had been plenty of grand love affairs. But it had probably been close to a century since thoughts of one woman turned him off to any other. On the surface he and Erin Strauss surely didn’t make sense. Lucky for Derek he had never been a surface kind of guy.

He pulled out and Erin slid back onto the mattress. Derek covered her with the blanket, kissing her shoulder. The bite mark wouldn’t last long, especially the way their skin regenerated from minor injury, so he laved it with his tongue.

“Are you trying to get me hot all over again?” she mumbled. “Because I'm telling you if I have one more orgasm tonight I'm going to curl up in a ball and die. You don’t want that on your conscience, Derek Morgan.”

“You underestimate your power.” Derek spooned behind her.

“Sometimes I underestimate yours. Sometimes I'm walking funny for days afterward.”

“You're welcome.” He brushed blonde hair from the nape of her neck and kissed it.

She laughed, relaxing in his arms. Her legs probably wouldn’t stop feeling like Jell-O until sometime late tomorrow afternoon. The butterflies in her stomach and the pleasurable ache in her sex would surely last longer. And it was only a matter of moments before…

“I really need a cigarette.”

“I was going to say those things can kill you but…”

“Exactly.” Erin turned in his arms and kissed his lips. “They're in my purse downstairs. I’ll just run down and have one.”

“Yeah, OK.” Morgan nodded.

He watched her get out of bed and pull on her panties. She passed over her own blouse, throwing his long-sleeved Adidas tee shirt over her messy blonde head. Derek couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t rush on my account. But it is drafty downstairs; put on some socks so you don’t catch cold.”

Smiling, Erin went over to the top drawer and grabbed a pair of sports socks. After putting them on she left the room. Clooney and Mudgie were resting outside of the half-closed bedroom door. When Erin headed for the stairs, her retriever was right behind her. 

Downstairs in the living room she recycled their beer bottles and then wrapped the last three slices of pizza in foil before putting them in the refrigerator. Erin got a glass of water from the tap. She took a Marlboro Mild from a case in her purse, lighting it as she scrolled the contacts on her cell phone. It was late but most of the inhabitants of their world were night owls.

“Erin?” Megan answered the phone. “Are you alright?”

“I'm sorry I'm calling so late. Do you have a few minutes to talk”

“Yeah, I do. What's going on?”

“I think I'm having feelings and I probably shouldn’t be having feelings and there's no way this can end anyway but badly.”

“Are we talking about a certain, very dashing immortal?” Megan asked.

“This is silly, Megan. I didn’t die and come back to life to have some messy love affair. This is never going to work. I should get the hell out while the getting is good.”

“You have no idea why you died and came back to life. Your story is just beginning. Fate can be tricky and bitchy but often times right on point.”

“It’s too late to be so philosophical. Maybe it’s too early.” Erin sighed. “I just don’t want to lose someone I've really come to care about.”

“You and Morgan are bonded. I'm sure your next question will be how but I'm afraid I don’t know the answer to that. There are thousands of us, hundreds of thousands, and plenty of immortals. You could’ve dreamed of any of them but it was Morgan. Go with what you're feeling but protect yourself. I did it for hundreds of years.”

“I don’t think I'm like you.” 

“Are you serious?” Megan laughed. “You're strong and willful and badass. You were that way before you crossed over into the supernatural world. I understand you don’t want to talk to Morgan about this, that’s why I'm here. Why don’t you come over tomorrow evening? 

“We’ll have some Chinese, real Chinese and not that stuff that comes in white boxes. We’ll get your favorite foods, some wine, and listen to relaxing music. We’ll just talk. Part of the problem is that you don’t have enough friends in this world yet. That’s OK because you have time. I’ll be the first.”

“I don’t know how to thank you.” Erin said.

“I owe you…you saved my life. Helping you to make your way is the least I can do.”

“I’d love to have dinner tomorrow. Should I tell you what I like?”

“I'm a Meretrix, Erin; I already know everything that makes you happy.”

“Oh right, I forgot about that.”

“Believe me when I tell you though, when you and I are talking heart to heart you'll be talking to Megan Kane not the Meretrix. I'm not going to tell you just what you want to hear. I'm going to keep it real, as they say. Honesty is how I do it.”

“And I appreciate that. I should go; I need to get some sleep.”

“Are you with Morgan tonight?” Megan asked.

“Yeah…he just got back from Romania, Poland, and Latvia. He wanted to have movie night.”

“He just got back from the Eastern Bloc and the first person he wanted to see was you?”

“I'm sure I'm not the first person.” Erin replied.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. I’ll see you around eight.”

“See you then.”

Erin hung up the phone. She finished her cigarette, water, and turned out the kitchen light. Leaving the one light on in the living room and putting her purse on her shoulder, she made her way back upstairs with Mudgie. This time he joined her in the bedroom where Clooney was already asleep at the bottom of the bed. Not sure if Morgan was asleep or not, Erin quietly took off her socks and shirt before getting in beside him. She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Morgan moved closer, putting a protective arm over her waist.

“Jetlag should’ve knocked you out hours ago.” She said. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“I got back around sunrise, slept off most of the day.” He mumbled. “Then I called you.”

“I was your first call?”

“After my nap, yeah. I called Penelope when I landed, Lindsay in the cab, and my client before I got home. How many people is that?”

“Four.” Erin laughed a little. “You must be exhausted if you can't add four.”

“It’s not jetlag anymore. We’ll call it sex-lag.”

“Sex-lag isn’t a word.”

“It’s our word now.” Derek’s head rested on her shoulder. “I like it. Do you like it?”

“We’re going to have our own language? How adventurous.” She smiled.

“We’ll come up with some more words at breakfast in the morning.”

He was going to feed her, and she didn’t even have to bring it up. Erin probably could’ve stopped bringing it up some time ago. Since when did breakfast become a defense mechanism? It had been such a long time since she had people in her life. 

Academics and then her fencing and then her FBI aspirations pushed so many people away. She’d had friends, she’d had lovers, but it was hard for a person to always be second to some kind of work. There were still acquaintances she would see sometimes. They didn’t know her secret so that made it even more difficult to open up with them. 

Megan said she had no idea why Erin died and came back to life again. Maybe it was so she could finally live. She supposedly had forever. There was a lot Erin could do with that kind of time.

***


End file.
